XL2000: Objects or Borders Are Not Printed Correctly (211454)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2000
This article was previously published under Q211454

SYMPTOMS

When you print a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 2000, one or more of the following symptoms may occur:
  • Drawing objects, AutoShapes, gridlines, charts, and other objects in the worksheet are not printed.
  • Drawing objects, AutoShapes, charts, and other objects in the worksheet are not printed completely (they are truncated). For example, only part of an oval or rectangle is printed.

    -or-

  • Some gridlines or borders may not be printed.

CAUSE

These problems may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:
  • You print the worksheet with a printer resolution of 75 or 150 dots per inch (dpi).
  • The Print Object check box for the drawing object, AutoShape, or chart is not selected.

    -or-

  • The worksheet is formatted to print without gridlines.

WORKAROUND

In most cases you can work around these problems by increasing the printer resolution. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Switch to the worksheet that you want to print.
  2. On the File menu, click Page Setup. Click the Page tab.
  3. In the Print Quality list, click a print quality of 300 dpi or greater (for example, 300 dpi, 600 dpi, or 1200 dpi).
  4. Click OK.
Repeat these steps for each worksheet that you want to print.

You can also change printer resolution by using the Printers icon in the Control Panel. However, using this method does not change the resolution for existing worksheets that have been saved to a different resolution.

If increasing the printer resolution does not correct the problem, use one or more of the following appropriate methods.

Printing Gridlines

To format a worksheet so that gridlines are printed, follow these steps:
  1. Switch to the worksheet that contains gridlines that you want to print.
  2. On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the Sheet tab.
  3. Click to select the Gridlines check box, and click OK.
Repeat these steps for each worksheet that contains gridlines that you want to print.

Printing Drawing Objects and AutoShapes

To print drawing objects and autoshapes, follow these steps:
  1. In the worksheet, click the object that you want to print.
  2. On the Format menu, click the first menu command. This command changes depending on the object that is selected; for example, the command may be AutoShape or Text Box. Then, click the Properties tab.
  3. Click to select the Print Object check box, and click OK.
Repeat these steps for each drawing object and AutoShape in the worksheet that you want to print.

Printing Charts

To print charts, follow these steps:
  1. In the worksheet, right-click the background of the chart and click Format Chart Area.
  2. Click the Properties tab.
  3. Click to select the Print Object check box, and click OK.
Repeat these steps for each chart in the worksheet that you want to print.

MORE INFORMATION

Because almost all printers that are available (as of early 1997) can print at a resolution of 300 dpi or higher, Microsoft Excel 2000 is optimized to print at high-resolutions, such as 300, 600, and 1200 dpi. When you print using a high resolution, you can print finer lines, more complex shading, and sharper-looking fonts.

When you use a printing resolution of 75 or 150 dpi, graphical objects may not be printed correctly, or may not be printed.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/7/2003
Keywords:kbpending kbprb kbprint KB211454
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